Chief Vehicle Engineer Message (NPK)
From NAGTROC
Chief Vehicle Engineer / Chief Product Specialist Kazutoshi Mizuno
How will the world react when Nissan presents this multi-performance car? I can't wait to find out.
The new GT-R inherits the tradition created by the long line of GT-Rs, the highest class of the domestic Skyline series, and is now reborn as "The supercar that creates the greatest inspiration" to the world. Not only that, it also shows the way for all future Nissan vehicles. As a vehicle which represents Nissan, it has been given the name "NISSAN GT-R". There are two major purposes of this Nissan GT-R.
1. Nissan's Technology Flagship
First and foremost, represented by dynamic performance and active safety, as well as an approach toward environmental-friendliness and safety by a supercar, the Nissan GT-R was born with the role to appeal Nissan's technology to all corners of the world. Beginning with the development of new technologies, the developmental process and engineering team structure, methods for measurement in testing and production, quality guarantee, performance guarantee, and through to the unique sales and services structure at special Nissan GT-R dealerships, we aimed to demonstrate the future for all Nissan models through everything created for the Nissan GT-R project.
2.The creation of a whole new supercar market
Second is the creation of a whole new supercar market. Traditionally, elements such as the roads it could be driven on, weather conditions, and driving techniques, put supercars in a market supposedly for a very limited class of users. We were committed in developing the Nissan GT-R with a whole new concept, " a supercar which offers a safety and a high performance supercar life for anyone, anywhere, at anytime" . It is a supercar that offers speed and fuel efficiency, power and clean air, high performance and safety. Nissan's new GT-R, a multi-performance supercar, creates a whole new position for supercars.
As a racing system developer and racing team director in the '90s, I've participated in many different races worldwide, including the Group C Japan Sports Prototype Car Endurance Championship, 24-hour races at Daytona and Le Mans, the Japan GT Championship, which we entered with a GT-R, and the F3000. Supported by Nissan team members, crew and fans, I've had the ultimate joy of winning a number of championships.
During that period, there was one thing I always wondered about: "Why don't we apply the performance and safety of racing cars to regular cars? Even during the euphoria after a championship win, the question rattled around inside me.
Racing cars remain stable under any condition by applying downforce and distributing the load equally to all four wheels. They offer both comfort and a feeling of stability described by drivers as " the tires are sucked to the ground" . Beyond that they are very safe, keeping the driver from harm even in high-speed accidents. Why aren't these technologies applied to mass-production cars to benefit customers?
In my mind I formulated a study for applying racing technologies to mass-production cars, and shortly thereafter I ended my racing career and took charge of developing consumer vehicles. I met with people I believed could share my dream, and began developing the FM package. At the time most considered the idea of applying racing technologies to mass-production cars just a dream. Dedicated efforts by our team to make that dream come true resulted in the development of the FM package and its realization in the Skyline and Fairlady Z.
The concept of the FM package is "flat-ride sport." Flat body-control that requires no eye movement creates a flat-ride environment that allows for precise driving and sporty performance, putting every possible driving situation under the control of the driver. We took this idea to a new level for the new Skyline. The " Premium Midship package" used for the first time in the Nissan GT-R, is a result of our challenge to create the world's best supercar total performance. This package came about as we focused on the fundamental principles of cars, without dividing them into categories like racing cars, mass-production vehicles and the like. It's the ultimate development of two core ideas: First, airflow can become power. Second, when weight is evenly distributed to the four wheels, the tires grip the road surface, so grip limits can be determined by how we distribute weight. Based on these ideas, every component in the Nissan GT-R, the body, engine, transmission, suspension, tires, everything, was newly developed exclusively for the Nissan GT-R. We concentrated on the creation of performance through vehicle packaging and 'the development and utilization of an overall vehicle measurement system' for unified technology communication. Members from planning, designing, testing, and production have come together as a dedicated team to develop this vehicle and create a whole new sales and service structure.
By making the most of the natural forces of gravity, inertial force and air, and bringing them into the tangible form of an automobile, we brought into reality the Nissan GT-R concept, "Supercar life available to anyone, anywhere at any time." The Nissan GT-R can work for a professional driver on a racetrack or for the rest of us on our way to a resort for the weekend, giving everyone the joy of supercar driving with confidence even on wet or snow-covered roads. It offers a sense of luxury with GT cruising in automatic mode, and has demonstrated world-class performance on Germany's Nürburgring circuit. The multi-performance supercar NISSAN GT-R raced through the Nürburgring circuit - where the condition of the most feared high-speed corner, "Kesselchen" was wet - with a record time of 7m38s. The Nissan GT-R has also made another important new breakthrough. It is a supercar designed to return environmental-friendliness and safety. The new NISSAN GT-R is a new multi-dimensional multi-performance supercar, born for the 21st century.
There was a supercar boom in the late 1970s, and I am sure many people have dreamed of owning a supercar and enjoying it to the fullest, with total confidence. The Nissan GT-R has a different perspective and aspires to makes those dreams come true.
The Nissan GT-R represents a new dimension of multi-performance in a supercar developed with a completely new approach, returning to the first principles of moving in a straight line, cornering and braking. In the Nissan GT-R I have instilled my hopes on how a car can excite people worldwide, how automakers worldwide might react to it, and for the car itself, that it continues to evolve to satisfy customers.